How to invert a chord
Take the lowest note of the chord and move it up an octave. The notes stay the same; only their order changes, so the chord keeps its name. Written as a slash chord, the bass note goes after the slash: C/E, C/G.
C inversions
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Root position C – E – G (C) -
1st inversion E – G – C (C/E) -
2nd inversion G – C – E (C/G)
Am inversions
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Root position A – C – E (Am) -
1st inversion C – E – A (Am/C) -
2nd inversion E – A – C (Am/E)
G7 inversions
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Root position G – B – D – F (G7) -
1st inversion B – D – F – G (G7/B) -
2nd inversion D – F – G – B (G7/D) -
3rd inversion F – G – B – D (G7/F)
Why use inversions?
Inversions let your hand stay in one place while the chords change. From C (C–E–G) to F in root position (F–A–C), every note moves. To F in 2nd inversion (C–F–A), C stays where it is, E moves up one semitone to F and G moves up two to A.
Inversions of every major chord
| Chord | Root position | 1st inversion | 2nd inversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | C E G (C) | E G C (C/E) | G C E (C/G) |
| D♭ | D♭ F A♭ (D♭) | F A♭ D♭ (D♭/F) | A♭ D♭ F (D♭/A♭) |
| D | D F♯ A (D) | F♯ A D (D/F♯) | A D F♯ (D/A) |
| E♭ | E♭ G B♭ (E♭) | G B♭ E♭ (E♭/G) | B♭ E♭ G (E♭/B♭) |
| E | E G♯ B (E) | G♯ B E (E/G♯) | B E G♯ (E/B) |
| F | F A C (F) | A C F (F/A) | C F A (F/C) |
| F♯ | F♯ A♯ C♯ (F♯) | A♯ C♯ F♯ (F♯/A♯) | C♯ F♯ A♯ (F♯/C♯) |
| G | G B D (G) | B D G (G/B) | D G B (G/D) |
| A♭ | A♭ C E♭ (A♭) | C E♭ A♭ (A♭/C) | E♭ A♭ C (A♭/E♭) |
| A | A C♯ E (A) | C♯ E A (A/C♯) | E A C♯ (A/E) |
| B♭ | B♭ D F (B♭) | D F B♭ (B♭/D) | F B♭ D (B♭/F) |
| B | B D♯ F♯ (B) | D♯ F♯ B (B/D♯) | F♯ B D♯ (B/F♯) |
Inversions of every minor chord
| Chord | Root position | 1st inversion | 2nd inversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cm | C E♭ G (Cm) | E♭ G C (Cm/E♭) | G C E♭ (Cm/G) |
| C♯m | C♯ E G♯ (C♯m) | E G♯ C♯ (C♯m/E) | G♯ C♯ E (C♯m/G♯) |
| Dm | D F A (Dm) | F A D (Dm/F) | A D F (Dm/A) |
| D♯m | D♯ F♯ A♯ (D♯m) | F♯ A♯ D♯ (D♯m/F♯) | A♯ D♯ F♯ (D♯m/A♯) |
| Em | E G B (Em) | G B E (Em/G) | B E G (Em/B) |
| Fm | F A♭ C (Fm) | A♭ C F (Fm/A♭) | C F A♭ (Fm/C) |
| G♭m | G♭ B𝄫 D♭ (G♭m) | B𝄫 D♭ G♭ (G♭m/B𝄫) | D♭ G♭ B𝄫 (G♭m/D♭) |
| Gm | G B♭ D (Gm) | B♭ D G (Gm/B♭) | D G B♭ (Gm/D) |
| G♯m | G♯ B D♯ (G♯m) | B D♯ G♯ (G♯m/B) | D♯ G♯ B (G♯m/D♯) |
| Am | A C E (Am) | C E A (Am/C) | E A C (Am/E) |
| B♭m | B♭ D♭ F (B♭m) | D♭ F B♭ (B♭m/D♭) | F B♭ D♭ (B♭m/F) |
| Bm | B D F♯ (Bm) | D F♯ B (Bm/D) | F♯ B D (Bm/F♯) |
Fingering for inversions
| Position | Right hand | Left hand |
|---|---|---|
| Root position | 1 – 3 – 5 | 5 – 3 – 1 |
| 1st inversion | 1 – 2 – 5 | 5 – 3 – 1 |
| 2nd inversion | 1 – 3 – 5 (or 1 – 2 – 4) | 5 – 2 – 1 |
1 = thumb, 2 = index, 3 = middle, 4 = ring, 5 = little finger. These are common defaults for three-note chords; hand size changes what feels best.
Names for inversions
| Bass note | Triad | 7th chord |
|---|---|---|
| Root | root position (5/3) | root position (7) |
| 3rd | 1st inversion (6) | 1st inversion (6/5) |
| 5th | 2nd inversion (6/4) | 2nd inversion (4/3) |
| 7th | — | 3rd inversion (4/2) |
Inversions on guitar
On guitar, inversions are written as slash chords: the chord, then the bass note.
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C
x32010
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C/E/E
032010
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C/G/G
332010
-
G/B/B
x20033
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D/F♯/F♯
200232
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Am/C/C
x32210
See every chord in root position and inversions on the piano chord chart, or name any inversion with the chord identifier.